


The Opposite of Abandonment

by hopeofnyan



Series: Zutara Month 2 of 2020 [6]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Comfort, Day Six: Family, F/M, Fire Nation (Avatar), Fluff, Gaang (Avatar) as Family, Gen, His friends are not abandoning him, Holding Hands, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Iroh is not going anywhere, Katara has a heart to heart with both of them, One Shot, One Shot Collection, Sunsets, Zuko needs reassurance, Zutara, Zutara Month, Zutara Month 2, Zutara Month 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:02:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24445507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopeofnyan/pseuds/hopeofnyan
Summary: By the end of the day of Zuko's coronation, he is both thankful and amazed that everything has gone so well. He still needs reassurance that his newfound family is not going to leave him. Good thing that he has someone to remind him of that.
Relationships: Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Katara & Iroh (Avatar), Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Zutara Month 2 of 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1726894
Comments: 6
Kudos: 67





	The Opposite of Abandonment

**Author's Note:**

> Day Six: Family

A brilliant mix of orange, pink, purple, and yellow coated the sky as the sun gradually descended in the west. The striking colors seemed fitting to mark the evening proceeding Zuko’s coronation as Fire Lord. Zuko felt grateful for the balcony on which he, his uncle, and his friends were gathered. The view was stunning, and it was with joy that he shared it with these people who loved him. There was nowhere else that he would rather be.

Weights seemed to have been lifted off of the young Fire Lord’s shoulders that day. The coronation ceremony had finally ended, and no one had attempted to protest his inauguration. Uncle had reassured him week after week that he would stay with Zuko and not leave him behind; for some reason, Zuko had feared his uncle would vanish after his crowning. He knew it was irrational but the fact that Uncle Iroh presently stood beside him with a tranquil smile on his face was immensely relieving.

A hand gently landed on his shoulder as another person appeared at his right side. Zuko glanced over to see Katara offering him a familiar smile, not unlike the time she had lingered with one right after hugging him for the first time. The sight both calmed and excited him. They had not had much time together in the last few days with all the preparations for his crowning. Perhaps they could spend more time in each other’s company for a while.

“Hey, Zuko,” Katara greeted him softly.

“Hey, Katara,” he responded as a grin tugged at his lips.

“How are you doing, Fire Lord?” she inquired with a giggle.

“You don’t need to call me that,” he chuckled. “I’m…good. Really good.”

“I’m glad for you,” she told him. “How are you, General Iroh?”

“I am well, Master Katara,” the man replied, leaning forward a bit to see her. “How are you?”

“I’m…I am at peace, I think,” Katara responded.

“Being at peace is no small feat. It is wonderful that you have reached that state of mind.”

Zuko gave Uncle a look of amusement and a bit of skepticism. “No proverb today?”

Iroh stared into the sunset thoughtfully before saying, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven – a time to love, a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace. Master Katara, despite all the hardship war has brought upon her, has found the time for peace and the time to love.”

“That is very kind of you,” she told him, unsure what else to say. His words described the years of her life as well as the present quite precisely.

For a few moments, Iroh seemed to be deep in thought before he stated, “I believe the tea is getting cold. I shall leave you two in peace.”

Zuko spared him a glance as he strolled to the table at the center of the balcony on which a tray of teacups and a teapot rested and their friends were gathered around.

“Don’t mind his proverbs. He enjoys telling them to everyone he knows,” the firebender told Katara.

“That was not so much a proverb as it was a straightforward statement,” Katara commented. “He knows a lot, doesn’t he?”

“Yes,” Zuko replied simply. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Do – do you have any plans?”

The waterbender pursed her lips. “I guess I’ll go back to the South Pole and help rebuild. I don’t know if I want to stay there for the rest of my life, though.” She shifted her gaze to him. “What about you? Are you going to be confined to the Fire Nation since you’re Fire Lord?”

“I don’t know,” Zuko admitted. “I really want to search for my mother, but I’m worried that I’ll never have time. There is a lot the Fire Nation needs to do to make up for the war. I’m sure I’ll have to travel to speak to the leaders of other places. Aang said he would help with some of it.” He looked down, scratching the back of his neck. “I’m going to miss you guys.” Despite his shut eyes, a watery sensation burned in his eyes. He refused to permit the tears to fall. “It feels like I just made friends with everyone and now they’re all leaving.”

“Zuko,” Katara whispered, lightly placing her hands on his arms. She delicately pulled him to face her – he turned to her without resistance. “We’re here for you. We aren’t going to leave forever – we will come back. _I_ will come back. We _will_ find your mother, I’m sure of it. We’re your family.” She touched his face with both of her hands; he leaned into them gratefully. “You aren’t alone anymore.”

“Thank you, Katara,” he murmured.

“If it’s okay with you, I’d like to stay in the Fire Nation a little longer. You deserve to have support, especially when you’re first starting out as Fire Lord. And even when I do have to leave, Iroh will be here. He’s your family too.” Katara felt a tear leak out of the corner of her eye. She needed him to realize that he was not alone. “You know all of us are your family, right?”

“I know,” he assured her with a miniscule smile.

Katara brushed her hand down his arm until she reached his hand. Gingerly, she slid her fingers on the side of it, asking without speaking. Unhesitatingly, Zuko allowed them to slip into his own. They stayed that way for a long time as the setting sun gleamed over them.

* * *

List of Zutara Month 2 prompts [here](https://neurologicaldamage.tumblr.com/post/616498052307599360/alright-everyone-since-this-seemed-so-popular)

**Author's Note:**

> In case no one read the last story, I sincerely apologize for not posting this sooner. Life has been extremely hectic this month.
> 
> Iroh's words of wisdom are derived from Ecclesiastes 3.
> 
> I suspect that Zuko's feelings of abandonment would linger for a while and I assume that he has not had close friends for very long by the time he is Fire Lord. Also, Iroh would not leave him for a teashop. He loved Zuko and spent years with him and joined him in exile and there is no way that he would abandon him, especially right after a hundred year war ended and him becoming the leader of the nation responsible for it.


End file.
